UPS drops 5.2bn-euro bid for TNT over EU competition
Package delivery firm United Parcel Service (UPS) has pulled out of its 5.2bn-euro ($6.8bn; £4.3bn) bid for Dutch rival TNT Express after discovering EU competition authorities would probably block the deal.
UPS said it saw "no realistic prospect" of approval of the deal from the European Commission.
UPS had offered to buy TNT in March in a bid to expand its European business.
UPS said it would pay TNT a 200m-euro break fee for dropping the deal.
"UPS informed TNT Express that UPS sees no realistic prospect that [European Commission] clearance can be obtained and that UPS will not pursue the transaction on any other basis," TNT said in a statement.
UPS had offered to sell parts of the company's small package operations and airline assets to try to appease the Commission's concerns, but said it had decided to pull out after a final meeting with regulators last week.
"We proposed significant and tangible remedies designed to address the European Commission's concerns with the transaction," UPS chief executive Scott Davis said.
Mr Davis said he was "extremely disappointed" with the stance taken by regulators.
The Commission had been due to announce its official decision on the deal early next month.
Shares in Amsterdam-listed TNT, Europe's second-largest delivery company after Deutsche Post's DHL, plunged 50% immediately after the announcement, before recovering slightly to trade 42% lower at 4.762 euros.
TNT, which reported a 3m-euro loss for its third quarter in its most recent trading update, said the "protracted merger process has been a distraction for management".
It said it would now focus on reassuring customers, encouraging employees and making money.
"Management will provide an update on its strategy in due course," the firm added in a statement.
German truck maker MAN cuts shifts
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MAN, a truck and bus maker with headquarters in southern Germany's largest city, Munich, provides clear evidence that the eurozone financial crisis is hitting the common currency's most powerful economy.
The firm's workers coming back from the Christmas and New Year break face shorter hours and lower pay.
This is a company that is thinking for the long term.
Their futuristic looking concept truck is something you won't see on the roads just yet. The chief executive, Anders Nielsen, says its aerodynamic shape could produce fuel savings of 25%.
But Mr Nielsen has a more immediate concern: "Due to the debt crisis, demand in Europe is dropping. It started in the southern part of Europe and has spread a little bit to the north."
He says selling trucks is a volatile and cyclical business, with investment decisions - such as buying a truck - affected by the uncertainty that has hit the eurozone.
So MAN needs to adjust its production to match demand, Mr Nielsen says.
There are no job losses in the pipeline, but workers will be doing shorter hours.
More than 5,000 people are affected. In the first instance the company expects the reduced shift pattern to continue for six months and then there will be a review.
The blow is being softened by a government scheme for reduced hours work, known in German as Kurzarbeit. The government makes up 60% of the lost income. In the case of MAN, another 30% is being found by changing the timing of workers' bonus payments.
Even so, the workers going on to shorter hours are taking pay cuts.
Athanasios Stimoniaris is a former forklift truck driver who now represents workers' interests on the works council at MAN in Munich.
He says it will be tough for families where the worker on reduced hours is the only earner. But he says this arrangement is preferable to having people losing their jobs altogether.
Germany more widely has so far weathered the eurozone storms relatively well. Unemployment is just 5.6%. Only Austria and Luxembourg in the eurozone can better that.
But opinions are divided among German economists about how worried the country should be about the impact of the crisis.
Prof Peter Bofinger of Wurzburg University is a member of the Council of Economic Experts, independent advisers to the government. He says recent indicators show German growth being negatively affected. The idea of Germany as the locomotive to pull the eurozone forward did not materialise, he says.
But Hans-Werner Sinn, head of the Ifo economic research institute at Munich University, is much more upbeat.
He says export industries are doing "quite well", though the importance of sales to other euro countries has declined dramatically.
When the eurozone was created, he says it accounted for 47% of German exports. Now the figure is 39%, as German firms have found new opportunities in faster growing economies.
MAN already sells trucks outside the eurozone, but Anders Nielsen is keen to expand that side of the business.
For now, MAN really is feeling the effects of Europe's financial crisis.
--BBC
Indian inflation eases to 11-month low in December
Indian inflation slowed last month, boosting hopes of an interest rate cut when the central bank meets later this month.
The annual rate of inflation eased to 7.18% in December, down from 7.24% in November, according to the Wholesale Price Index - the country's main gauge of inflation.
Inflation is now at its lowest rate in 11 months.
The slight fall continues the downward trend which started in October.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) meets on 29 January to discuss interest rates.
Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist with Barclays Capital, said he now expected the main interest rate to be cut to 7.75% from 8%.
"The numbers are a relief and core inflation is easing," said Mr Sanyal.
Economic growth has been slowing since last year, falling to an annual pace of 5.3% in the July to September quarter, and there are hopes a rate cut could help to stimulate the economy.
The central bank has not lowered interest rates since April because inflation, fuelled by a weak rupee and more expensive oil imports, has remained above 7%.
Thousands of Demonstrators Gather in Islamabad
Thousands of Pakistanis are converging on the capital for a protest march led by a cleric who has called for political change.
Tahirul Qadri, who recently returned home from Canada, had promised to bring a million demonstrators to the streets of Islamabad Monday in his call for electoral reform, but early estimates say he will not reach that goal. Still, a huge crowd is gathering.
The cleric wants an interim government to root out graft and mismanagement blamed for chronic energy shortages, stunted growth, and allowing crime and a Taliban insurgency to flourish.
Thousands of security officers have been deployed in Islamabad to protect government and diplomatic areas as the protesters gather in the city.
The protest comes just after a three-day demonstration by Hazara Shi'ite in Quetta, capital of eastern Baluchistan province, protesting against one of the worst sectarian attacks in the country's history in which nearly 100 in their community were killed.
After thousands of Shi'ites sat in the roads by the bodies of their dead, the federal government finally gave in to one of the protesters' key demands and fired the provincial government.
Millions of Hindus Flock to the Ganges
A million Hindus plunged into the freezing waters of the holy Ganges River Monday, marking the beginning of the world's largest religious festival.
The Kumbh Mela festival, held every 12 years in the Indian town of Allahabad, will see up to 100 million worshippers gather over the next 55 days to take a ritual bath in the Ganges, whose waters are believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings.
According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a battle over a nectar that would bestow immortality.
Drops of the nectar of immortality are said to have fallen during the battle on Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar. The Kumbh Mela is held periodically in all the towns.
Organizing and managing the onslaught of so many people is a massive undertaking. To cope with the flow of people, authorities in the state of Uttar Pradesh have installed thousand of toilets, laid hundreds of kilometers of water pipes and roads, and deployed thousands of police.
Despite its importance in Hinduism, the Ganges is tainted by industry and the settlements along its banks, which quickly turn the clear waters from the Himalayas into a murky, frothy brown downstream.
India Orders ‘Aggressive’ Response to Any Kashmir Firing
India's army chief says he has ordered his commanders to deliver an “aggressive” response to any firing from Pakistani forces in disputed Kashmir.
General Bikram Singh said Monday that he expects his troops to fire back if they are provoked by Pakistani forces.
Singh's comments were made ahead of a meeting Monday between Indian and Pakistani commanders to discuss last week's deadly flare ups along the de factor border in Kashmir in which both Indian and Pakistani troops were killed.
The clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbors are the worst outbreak of violence in Kashmir since a cease-fire took effect in 2003. But Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said she does not believe the violence will derail an ongoing bilateral peace process.
Pakistan's Foreign Office Friday said “such unprovoked attacks” are against the spirit of the ongoing peace process and create “unnecessary and unavoidable distractions” in peace efforts. Pakistan also said it has pursued dialogue with India “with seriousness” and taken “significant steps” to create a peaceful environment.
The South Asian neighbors have fought two wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. India and Pakistan both claim the region in full.
Kachin Rebels Say Burma Military Kills 3 Civilians in Artillery Attack
Ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Burma say government forces shelled the town they use as their headquarters, killing three civilians and wounding three others.
A member of the Kachin Independence Army said the attack on the town of Laiza, near Burma's northeast border with China occurred early Monday morning. He said one of those killed was a 15-year-old boy.
The Kachinland News, an independent media organization that reports news in ethnic Kachin areas, quoted a witness as saying shells fell in a residential area where about 40,000 displaced Kachins from other areas of Burma live with local residents.
The United States and the United Nations are urging the Burmese government to stop its campaign of strikes against rebels in Kachin state, where an escalation in violence is threatening the country's reform process.
Switerland Leads Effort to Refer Syria to ICC
More than 50 countries, led by Switzerland, will ask the United Nations Security Council Monday to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, a move that would pave the way for war crimes prosecutions.
A letter obtained by the Associated Press cites the findings of a U.N. expert panel documenting torture, sexual violence and summary executions that have occurred in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011.
The violence continued Sunday as Syrian fighter jets bombed the Damascus suburbs, killing at least nine people, including a number of children, in a government offensive to dislodge rebels from strategic areas around the capital.
A report by the opposition Damascus Media Center cited as many as 36 people killed in the attack, including 14 children. That account could not be independently confirmed.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred when a shell exploded in the eastern Ghouta district on the outskirts of the capital.
Video footage showed women weeping near the dismembered bodies of children lying in a muddy field near an air base on the edge of the town of Muleiha.
A member of the group said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces were targeting civilian areas to try to weaken support for the rebels.
Rebels have been attacking the Muleiha base for days and the army has fired hundreds of rockets on the town in response.
Clashes also raged around army bases and airfields in northern Syria.
Meanwhile, Russia urged the rebels to make counter-proposals to those made by Mr. Assad in a recent speech to start a dialogue that could end the fighting.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday that if he were “in the opposition's place,” he would come up with ideas in response on how to establish a dialogue.
He repeated Russia's position that the opposition's demand for Mr. Assad to quit could not be a precondition for peace talks to end the 21-month conflict that has killed at least 60,000 people.
Argo triumphs at Critics Choice Awards
Hostage drama Argo was the big winner at this year's Critics' Choice Awards, hours after director Ben Affleck missed out on an Oscar nomination.
Affleck jokingly "thanked the Academy" as he accepted best director, but added: "This is the one that counts." The movie was also named best film.
Oscar favourites Daniel Day Lewis and Jessica Chastain won the best actor and actress prizes respectively.
In a separate comedy category, Silver Linings Playbook swept the board.
The film won best comedy actor and actress for leads Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, best comedy film, and best ensemble for a cast which includes Oscar nominees Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.
Director David O Russell dedicated his award to his son - who, like the film's male lead has bipolar disorder - saying: "I made it to give him hope," adding, "That's my silver lining."
Lawrence, who bagged an Oscar nomination for best actress on Thursday, also took home the best actress in an action movie for The Hunger Games, based on the bestselling book.
"Critics aren't so bad," she joked, as she accepted the award,
Skyfall was named best action movie, a day after it failed to become the first Bond film to secure a best picture Oscar nomination.
Its star Daniel Craig also picked up the best actor in an action film prize, and Adele won the best song award for the title song Skyfall - a prize she is tipped to win at the Oscars.
The awards are handed out by the 250-member Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest film critics organisation in the United States and Canada.
Les Miserables' Anne Hathaway, who attended the ceremony in Los Angeles with her co-star Hugh Jackman received the best supporting actress prize, while Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best supporting actor for his turn as a cult leader in The Master.
Nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, who this week became the youngest actress to secure an Oscar nomination, won in the best young actor or actress category.
'Genius' award
Other notable winners included Michael Haneke's Amour, which won best foreign film and Quentin Tarantino, who picked up best original screenplay for his spaghetti western-style film Django Unchained.
Munich screenwriter Tony Kushner won Lincoln's second award of the night, for best adapted screenplay. The presidential drama leads the Oscar hopefuls with 12 Academy Award nominations.
However, Life of Pi - nominated for 11 Oscars - only won two technical awards.
Comedy writer and director Judd Apatow, best known for box office hits such as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, received a special "genius" award created to honour "an unprecedented demonstration of excellence in the cinematic arts".
The awards precede Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony.
Justin Timberlake's ready to release new music
Now that we're done hyperventilating and collectively freaking out, we can talk about Justin Timberlake's announcement that he's back in business. The music business, to be precise.
A rep for the newly married entertainer said in August that Timberlake didn't have new solo music in the works, despite rumors to the contrary. But it would appear that in 2013 Timberlake is changing his tune.
The 31-year-old dropped hints on Twitter and on his website that new tunes are forthcoming, even setting up a countdown clock so the eagerly anticipating can watch the seconds tick by.
"Your wait will be over Sunday........" said Timberlake in a vague post on his website. Thankfully, he also offered a YouTube clip that gives a little more clarity.
"To whom it may concern...I think I'M READY!" he tweeted with a link to the clip.
In it, he describes being asked whether he had parted ways with his music career for good.
"It means more to me than anybody else in the world" Timberlake said, as the video tracks him walking into a booth in a recording studio and donning a pair of headphones.
"I'm the one who sits and is obsessive about it before you even get to hear it," he continued. "As close as I get to it, I don't know if I could physically torture myself that much year in and year out and expect it to fulfill me the way that it does, and the way that it is right now. I don't want to put anything out that I feel like is something I don't love. You just don't get that everyday. You have to wait for it."
And wait we will - in the meantime, we'll be playing "Future/Sex/Love/Sounds."